Bashibashi Today: Upton is an outfielder

Offensive Performance to date:
R-9/12, HR-7/12, RBI- 7/12, SB-10/12, AVG-10/12 TOTAL OFFENSE 43/60 (third place of twelve)

By starting his fifth game at CF last night for Tampa Bay, B.J. Upton became eligible to play in the OF slot for Bashibashi. As speculated, he was even the lead off batter. With Upton plus three other outfielders, Bashibashi now only needs to carry one bench player, and won't miss out if Zimmerman continues his current pace. R, SB and AVG should stay respectable if the pre-season projections are close. Homerun and RBI pop from the 22-year olds, Upton and Zimmerman, may improve the Bashibashi offense.

There had been a daily decision to rest Roberts or Zimmerman or Upton. Since all have played well, it is easy to point to examples where the bench player has been better than a starter. June 5: Upton was 4 for 6 with a HR against Roy Halladay. June 3: Zimmerman homerun. May 23: Upton HR and SB. May 18: Roberts 4/5. May 16: Zimmerman HR. May 13: Zimmerman grand slam.

Update: B.J. Upton injured himself the game after this was written. He is currently on the 15 day DL.

Pitching Performance to date:
W-1/12, SV-12/12, K-7/12, ERA-8/12, WHIP-11/12 TOTAL PITCHING 39/60 (fourth place of twelve)

Hernandez, Clemens, Zito and Hill make four starting pitchers drafted in the first ten rounds. Mike Mussina, another tenth rounder was recently dropped, and Bashibashi may regret keeping Lincecum, Shields and Gallardo over the Yankee. All but Gallardo, the top minor leaguer with the Brewers, are now scheduled to pitch. Currently, the strikeout pace (346 K/362 IP) leads the league. W and K points should improve when Bashibashi catches up with the rest of the league in innings pitched.

Toward catching up in W, Pat Neshek was recently added, though closer candidates are everywhere. I remember watching Casilla pitch for Oakland in 2004 and Sacramento in 2005. He got the save last night and is unlikely to be noticed for a while. I also like Soria, who just came off the DL and appears to be better than the current Kansas City closer, Dotel. Adding back Lidge, a ninth round pick who is set to reclaim the closer role for Houston, would obvious if Bashibashi didn't have a twenty save lead. Bashibashi needs to keep trading closers, as was done to get Zito and Zimmerman, to justify giving Eddie Guardado the DL roster spot.

Combining hitting and pitching points, Bashibashi ranks second overall, with at least three strong competitors.

Bashibashi today (draft round and overall pick number shown):
1. (1) Albert Pujols 1B
2. (24) Matt Holliday OF
3. (25) Jimmy Rollins SS
4. (48) Brian McCann C
5. (49) Brian Roberts 2B
6. (70) Ryan Zimmerman 3B (trade)
6. (71) Raúl Ibañez OF (waiver claim)
6. (72) Félix Hernández SP
7. (73) Todd Helton 1B
8. (96) Roger Clemens SP
9. (97) Jonathan Papelbon RP
10. (119) Barry Zito SP (trade)
10. (120) Rich Hill SP
13. (145) Bob Wickman RP
15. (169) Barry Bonds OF
17. (198) B. J. Upton 3B, 2B, OF (free agent claim)
Undrafted: Tim Lincecum SP, Matt Capps RP, James Shields SP, Yovani Gallardo SP, Pat Neshek RP, Eddie Guardado DL